Three underage girls say male suspect used threats to obtain nude photos of them

A 20-year-old Nicosia man has been arrested on child porn charges following complaints he had forced teenage girls to send him nude photos.

Three underage girls filed a complaint with the Cyber Crime Unit, accusing the suspect of using a popular social networking site to approach them.

He then used threats to force them to send him photos of themselves completely naked, according to the complaint, which also included information that the suspect had used multiple account profiles to get in touch with the girls.

The suspect used a popular social networking site to force the girls to send him photos of themselves completely naked

Police were able to locate the suspect and detained him after a warrant for his arrest was issued on Sunday. Cops also searched his residence where they confiscated an electronic tablet and a mobile phone.

Based on preliminary findings, the mobile phone was logged in to one of the fake account profiles on the social networking platform.

The 20-year-old could face multiple charges including sexual abuse, exploitation of minors, child luring for sexual purposes, possession of child porn, and falsification of electronic documents.

Sexting, the creating and sharing of sexual material via smartphones, social media or websites, has been prevalent among young people, especially high school students.

But authorities have warned of multiple risks on social networking sites, especially as young girls often do not know whether a friend or a predator could be on the other end of the virtual world.